Local & Regional Briefs for Tuesday, April 8

Windsor — A 26-year-old Windsor man was sentenced last week to 20 months in prison for possession of child pornography, according to a news release from the United States Department of Justice.

During the sentencing on April 1 in U.S. District Court in Burlington, Gerard Mascola was also sentenced to serve five years of supervised release at the conclusion of his prison term.

“According to court records, Mascola was detected sharing child pornography over the Internet by special agents from the Office of Homeland Security Investigations,” the release said. “(Homeland Security Investigations) special agents were able to identify and locate Mascola using his Internet protocol address.”

According to the release, Mascola was indicted by a federal grand jury in July 2013 and pleaded guilty to possession of child pornography on Dec. 16. He was released pending sentencing.

Two Arrested in Canaan On Drug Charges

Canaan — Two New Hampshire men were arrested on drug charges over the weekend after police seized a variety of drugs and weapons during a search of a home on Maple Road, authorities said Monday.

Police seized 44 grams of heroin with a street value of $11,000; 13.5 grams of cocaine; almost 6 ounces of marijuana; Oxycontin tablets and suboxone; and several firearms, including semi-automatic rifles, in a search of the property, Canaan Police said in a news release.

Arrested at the scene on Sunday was Charles A. Neily, 31, of Canaan, who was charged with possession of cocaine, possession of Hydrocodone; possession of marijuana; possession of anabolic steroids; and possession of suboxone, the release said.

Also arrested at the Canaan home was Gerion D. Silva, 39, of Danbury, N.H., who was charged with possession of heroin, possession of cocaine, possession of marijuana, and possession of oxycontin, authorities said.

Both men were arraigned Monday in Lebanon District Court and ordered held at the Grafton County jail on $10,000 cash bail, the release said.

I-91 North Bridge Work To Begin in Windsor

Windsor — Drivers traveling northbound near the Interstate 91 bridge in Windsor will be diverted onto the southbound lane starting April 18 to allow workers to start the next stage of work on the span.

A “rolling roadblock,” which directs northbound drivers into the southbound lane of the bridge, will be in place until Oct. 15, Lauralee Heckman, Lane Construction Corporation communications manager said on Monday.

“The whole point of the rolling roadblock is to get the traffic moving in the right pattern that they need so they can work,” Heckman said.

Traffic will be slowed down to 15 mph for the duration of the lane change.

“If it is unsafe, they would stop the traffic, but they don’t anticipate that happening,” Heckman said.

Brown to Start N.H. Senate Bid Thursday

Concord (ap) — Republican Scott Brown is officially kicking off his campaign for New Hampshire’s U.S. Senate seat on Thursday.

After months of speculation, the former Massachusetts senator moved to New Hampshire in December, created an exploratory committee last month and spent the last few weeks traveling around the state meeting voters. He plans to formally announce his campaign Thursday night in Portsmouth.

Brown won a special election in Massachusetts in 2010 and then lost his seat to Democrat Elizabeth Warren in 2012. Hoping for a chance to unseat Democrat Jeanne Shaheen this fall, Brown faces former U.S. Sen. Bob Smith, former state Sen. Jim Rubens and conservative activist Karen Testerman in the GOP primary.